Area Residents Are Encouraged to Report Any Signs of ALB And to Avoid Moving Firewood

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2011--The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) announce that surveys are under way in Bethel, Ohio, after the detection and identification of the Asian longhorned beetle. Bethel is located 30 miles southeast of Cincinnati.

First discovered in the United States in 1996, Asian longhorned beetles attack several species of trees including maple, willow, horsechestnut, buckeye and American elm. While in its larvae stage, the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) kills trees by tunneling into large branches and the trunk.

Ohio is the fourth state to detect ALB, which APHIS confirmed in Bethel after a citizen reported finding unusual damage in three maple trees to an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry service forester. Previous infestations sites, where the beetles are being successfully contained, include Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

APHIS and ODA inspection crews are surveying the southern portion of Bethel and the surrounding area to determine the extent of the ALB infestation. Crews will inspect host tree species susceptible to ALB for signs of the wood-boring beetle using ground surveyors and specially trained tree climbers.

APHIS and the ODA are working cooperatively with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the USDA Forest Service, and the town of Bethel to evaluate the scope of the infestation and to inform the public about the exotic, invasive pest.

Citizens can help by reporting sightings of an unusual beetle and any signs of infestation to a designated, toll free hotline (855) 252-6450.

Adult ALB are usually large, distinctive-looking insects measuring 1- to 1-1/2 inches long, not including antennae. Their white-banded antennae can be as long as the body itself in females and almost twice the body length in males.

Signs of infestation include perfectly round exit holes (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter) made by adult beetles when they emerge from trees; the pockmarks on tree trunks and branches where female beetles deposit eggs; frass (wood shavings and saw dust) produced by larvae feeding and tunneling; early fall coloration of leaves or dead branches, and running sap produced by the tree at the egg laying sites, or in response to larval tunneling.

Note to reporters: USDA news releases, program announcements and media advisories are available on the Internet and through really simple syndication (RSS) feeds. Go to the APHIS news release page at www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom and click on the RSS feed link.